Four Arrested After Using Imposters to Secure Civil Service Jobs

Four Arrested After Using Imposters to Secure Civil Service Jobs

Four young men have been apprehended at the Secretariat in Dhaka after attempting to assume government positions they had secured through fraudulent means. The suspects allegedly hired imposters to sit their written and oral examinations, assuming their elaborate deception would go unnoticed once the final appointment letters were issued.

The incident unfolded on Tuesday, 19 September, when the candidates arrived at the Ministry of Public Administration to formally join the civil service as ‘Office Assistants’. Their plan unravelled during the final verification process, leading to their immediate detention and subsequent handover to the police. A criminal case has since been registered against the individuals at the Shahbagh Police Station.

The detained individuals have been identified as Mohammad Abdul Halim (roll number 19004481) from Gopalpur Upazila in Tangail; Mohammad Ali Haidar (roll number 19016391) from Chouhali Upazila in Sirajganj; Mohammad Rasel Rana Liton (roll number 19011933) from Nageshwari Upazila in Kurigram; and Mohammad Masud Fakir (roll number 19019257) from Sreepur Upazila in Gazipur.

Strict Verification Thwarts Deception

According to ministry sources, the oral examinations for the Grade-20 post of Office Assistant were conducted on 24, 25, and 28 August. In an effort to ensure transparency and combat recruitment fraud, the ministry had implemented a strict protocol, which included photographing every candidate who appeared for the viva.

The newly recruited staff were instructed to report for duty at 10:00 am on 19 September in Room 1 of Building 3 at the Secretariat. When the four accused presented themselves to complete their joining formalities, officiating bureaucrats grew suspicious of their identities. Officials cross-referenced the physical appearance of the applicants with the photographs captured during the oral examinations in August, revealing stark discrepancies.

Faced with undeniable photographic evidence, the four men confessed during interrogation that they had paid proxy candidates to sit the examinations on their behalf. The suspects subsequently provided written confessions admitting to their guilt before being taken into police custody.

The Broader Context of Recruitment Fraud

Civil service positions in the country remain highly coveted due to job security, status, and associated benefits, making the recruitment process intensely competitive. This high demand has fostered a lucrative underground network of fraudulent agencies and proxy rings that promise guaranteed employment in exchange for exorbitant sums of money.

The Ministry of Public Administration’s successful detection of these fraudsters highlights the growing necessity for biometric and photographic verification at every stage of public sector recruitment. While digital security measures have made it increasingly difficult for impersonators to bypass the system, the audacity of candidates attempting to join the Secretariat—the nerve centre of government administration—demonstrates the persistent challenge authorities face in maintaining the integrity of public service entry standards.

Steps are now underway to investigate whether an organized syndicate assisted these four individuals in bypassing the initial layers of the examination process.